UK
 

Queer Youth Alliance attacked by gay Tory

On Friday, January 9, the official "gay wing" of the Conservative
Party circulated a press release regarding the Queer Youth
Alliance's stance on civil partnerships and attacking Alex Lambert,
QYA's Campaigns and Activism Officer.

The Queer Youth Alliance is appalled by the malice and numerous
errors of fact contained within the release. Having successfully
persuaded the Gay Conservatives to rectify some mistakes, QYA is now
saddened to find further errors in the updated version. It has
therefore become necessary to correct the public record, in light of
which QYA notes that:

Alex Lambert is not, as was originally claimed, the leader of the
Alliance; he occupies one of 12 seats on the Executive Committee.
David Henry is the founder and current President of the Alliance.


QYA's stance on the government's civil partnership proposals has
been clearly published and submitted to the Women and Equality Unit
of the DTI in response to their public consultation. It is not, as
implied by the Gay Conservatives, one of outright rejection - but
rather one of deep concern regarding the long-term implications of
creating separate systems for heterosexuals and homosexuals.

QYA continues to call for a single system for the recognition of
partnerships, regardless of the nature of the relationship between
the individuals concerned - a view that, contrary to the Gay
Conservatives' press release, has been echoed in the responses of
numerous other organisations - including the Conservative Party
themselves.

Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP asked in an article for the Daily
Telegraph: "We should bear in mind that such problems are not
confined to gay couples. [...] Why should the problems encountered
by two cohabiting sisters, for example, who may be pledged to care
for each other, not also be addressed?"

Extracts from letters written by Alex Lambert in a personal capacity
to the Pink Paper were grossly misrepresented, with quotations
removed from context incorrectly purporting to be an accurate
representation of what was said.

In particular, the Gay Conservatives' original press release says
that: "[Alex Lambert] described gay people as 'disease-ridden and
promiscuous' (Pink Paper, issue 820, 26 December 2003)."

Whereas, the full extract reads: "by relegating civil partnerships,
[James Davenport, chairman of the Gay Conservatives] was promoting
the stereotype of gay people being disease-ridden and promiscuous."

The telephone call referenced in the final release took place
between Gregory Justice, QYA's Vice President, and James Davenport
on January 9. The purpose of the call was to highlight the above
errors - and the revised release is testiment to the Gay
Conservatives' acceptance of fault. At no time has any member of
QYA's Executive Committee moved to distance themselves or the
organisation from Alex's well-reasoned discussion.

In his closing remark, James Davenport calls for the resignation of
Alex Lambert from the Queer Youth Alliance. The QYA Executive and
membership has unanimously rejected this call and reiterates its
wholehearted support for Alex's ongoing hard work and invaluable
contributions to the Alliance.

David Henry, President of the Queer Youth Alliance, commented: "QYA
has been deeply shocked by the underhand nature of the Gay
Conservatives' public rants and I sincerely hope that this matter
can be brought to a swift and amicable end."

About the Queer Youth Alliance
The Queer Youth Alliance (QYA) is the UK's largest organisation run
by and for young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. It
currently has over 2000 members aged under 25 all around the country
and operates a vibrant online community from its website.

The Queer Youth Alliance is a member of The Children's Rights
Alliance for England.

Click for Queer Youth Alliance web page.

12 January 2004